RapidArc radiotherapy technology is a major advance from Varian Medical Systems that improves dose conformity while significantly shortening treatment times. RapidArc delivers treatments two to eight times faster than our fastest dynamic treatments today and increases precision – a winning combination that enables physicians to improve the standard of care and treat more patients.

RapidArc is a volumetric arc therapy that delivers a precisely sculpted 3D dose distribution with a single 360 degree rotation of the linear accelerator gantry. It is made possible by a treatment planning algorithm that simultaneously changes three parameters during treatment: rotation speed of the gantry, shape of the treatment aperture using the movement of multileaf collimator leaves, and delivery dose rate.

Volumetric modulated acr therapy differs from existing techniques like helical IMRG or intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMAT) because it delivers dose to the whole volume rather that slice by slice. And the treatment planning algorithm ensures the treatment precision, helping to spare normal, healthy tissue.

RapidArc radiotherapy technology is easy to implement and requires no major process changes from the physician, physicist, dosimetrist or therapists. While treatment times is much faster, the steps for planning and delivering treatments are virtually the same as today’s IMRT and IGRT treatment techniques.

The new RapidArc treatment algorithm carefully exploits many of the characteristics of Varian’s current range of linear accelerators and multileaf collimators, including:

Leaf interdigitation uniquely possible with a multileaf collimator

Varian’s dynamic “window sliding” approach to beam shaping

The Varian patented “gridded gun” to vary the dose rate as a function of the gantry angle

As a result, a single arc can deliver essentially similar dose distributions compared with IMRT plans that incorporate as many as 36 fields.

While RapidArc is available on some accelerators, the Varian accelerator allows practitioners to implement this time-efficient and precise treatment without losing the ability to deliver other forms of treatment if needed.